Thy Kingdom Come

The disciples, watching Jesus in prayer, asked Him to teach them how to pray, so we know that what He taught was what He did.  He prayed, "Thy kingdom come....."

Why is it incumbent upon mankind to pray "Thy kingdom come," when God is in charge of the heavens and the earth?  He can do whatever He chooses to do; He is more than capable of establishing His kingdom on earth, just as it in in heaven -- where there is no pain, no sorrow, where He has "wiped away every tear," and given peace to all who trust Him. 

The truth is that God has given us dominion over the earth; the earth will exist just the way man desires it to exist, because God will not override our freedom to choose nor the desires of our hearts.  Whatever happens to man in the realm of the spirit is exactly what will be reflected on earth -- in the soil, in the air, in the water.  Our earth will prosper or it will die depending on our spiritual condition.

Man is in charge, but he is not in control, of the earth.  William Barry once wrote, "Man always thinks he can release a few demons into the world and then control them."  The movie Jurassic Park is a graphic reminder of man's hubris; we think we can release forces of our own devising without having them threaten our very existence.

Without God's Holy Spirit residing in us, guiding us into all Truth, man has knowledge, but not wisdom, for wisdom is given only from above.  We were never meant to "go it alone," without the Holy Spirit, without God's dominion and inspiration, but man from the beginning has determined "to be as gods." 

Yesterday, for some strange reason, I was trying to open a box with only one hand.  Who knows why I would do something like that?  Perhaps I had a cup of coffee in the other hand and did not want to set it down; perhaps I thought I was "good enough," "strong enough," "smart enough" to manage the task with only one hand.  Foolish woman!  Finally, I said to myself, "I have two hands here; why am I trying to do this with only one hand?"  And then I realized that this is exactly mankind's dilemma.

We were designed to operated fully and wisely to govern the earth with the spirit-part of us operational, in communion with the Breath of God, the Ruah, the Holy Spirit.  But man is always determined to try it first on his own strength, with his own knowledge and experience, before he finally realizes his inability to govern the earth without the Wisdom given from above. 

When we pray "Thy kingdom come," we are freely and openly inviting the Holy Spirit into our domain, into the area of our rule and influence.  This is "my" property; it was given to me by God Himself---and He will not cross the threshold until I invite Him to do so.  He respects my property and my domain; He enters only when invited.  Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone will open to me, I will come in and sup with him, and he with Me" (Rev. 3:20).  If we do not open the door, He will not enter, and since only He can establish the kingdom of God, since the kingdom resides in Him and for Him and with Him, we cannot have God's rule on earth unless we freely and joyfully open our doors to Jesus Christ.

Whenever my own mother would come to visit me, she always stood at the door and knocked or rang the bell.  She would not enter until I opened the door for her, even though she knew she was welcome to come in at any time.  She and my father, along with my husband's mother and father, had lent us money to buy the house in which we lived, had given us the education to earn a living to pay for the house, had helped us out in a thousand ways getting established.  And yet, none of them considered it their privilege to walk into our house without being invited.  So too is the gentleness and courtesy of our God.  He will come in, He will bring His kingdom -- His power and presence -- ONLY at our invitation.  He will not overrule our freedom to choose whose kingdom, which kingdom, will reign in our homes, in our businesses, on our property. 

If we do not pray "Thy kingdom come," it will not come, and we will live with the consequences of our own choices in this country, in our homes, and on the earth.